The castle dates back to 1211 (it was completed in 1388) and is believed by some to have been the inspiration for Irish author Bram Stoker’s description of Dracula’s castle in his 1897 book:

The castle is on the very edge of a terrific precipice. A stone falling from the window would fall a thousand feet without touching anything! As far as the eye can reach is a sea of green tree tops, with occasionally a deep rift where there is a chasm. Here and there are silver threads where the rivers wind in deep gorges through the forests.

Of course, the bloodsucking Count Dracula was fictional and there's no proof that his real life inspiration — Vlad the Impaler, prince of Wallachia in the 15th century — ever lived in this fortress either.

In reality, the castle was occupied by warriors and knights during its early history before being gifted to the Habsburg royal family in 1920.

When the Communists came to power in 1948, the Habsburg heirs were forced to leave the country. Today, those heirs run the castle as a tourist destination, but are looking to sell it to a new owner who will continue to run the museum and potentially open a small hotel.

The Daily Mail reports the Romanian government has been offered the castle for the price of £47 million, but the owners are open to other bids. Mark Meyer of Herzfeld and Rubin, a New York law firm handling the sale, told The Daily Mail: “If someone comes in with a reasonable offer, we will look at who they are, what they are proposing, and will seriously entertain the idea.”

Bran Castle is located in Romania, near the city of Braşov.

It was built between 1211-1388, and housed warriors, knights, and the Habsburg royal family.

Queen Marie, the last queen consort of Romania and granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and later her daughter Princess Ileana were the last owners before a Communist takeover in 1948. That's Queen Marie and Princess Ileana on the left, and Ileana by herself on the right.